Hungary has announced it is building a second barrier to keep out migrants. The move by Prime Minister Viktor Orban is likely to exacerbate tensions between his government and the European Union (EU).
Image: Reuters/L. Balogh
Advertisement
A government spokesman confirmed on Monday that Hungary was building an additional fence along its southern border with Serbia. The announcement came as a chorus of criticism increases from activists and members of the EU about the state of human rights under Orban.
The prime minister oversaw the building of a first barbed-wire fence in 2015, when Hungary was part of the main overland route for refugees entering Europe from parts of the Middle East and Central Asia. At the height of the refugee crisis, in September 2015, as many as 10,000 migrants were apprehended by Hungarian police on some days.
The government says that while the number of migrants seeking to enter Hungary had dropped considerably since 2015, border police still prevent hundreds of people from illegally crossing the border each day.
Where governments fail, volunteers come to refugees' aid
The changing flow of refugees has made it hard for governments and NGOs to keep up. As a result, humanitarian aid has often been provided by volunteers. Diego Cupolo has been documenting the crisis in the Balkans.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
This is how unplanned refugee camps look
When Hungary closed its Serbian border, thousands of people were left stranded in Horgos without much more than their backpacks. Volunteer groups from Hungary and surrounding countries immediately shuttled aid to the camp through nearby border crossings, allowing many refugees to receive blankets, sleeping pads and tents before the next day.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Translators without borders
Language barriers are overcome with the help of Arabic and Farsi speakers who volunteer as translators. Above, Yahya Abdullah, a Syrian studying in Hungary, helps guide refugees to trains at Keleti Station in Budapest. He said when families arrive "exhausted and weary … talking to someone in their native language or a language they understand [is] a relief."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
The value of a hot meal
In Tovarnik, Croatia, refugees receive hot meals from Polish and German volunteers who distribute food from the back of their van. One refugee thanked the volunteers, saying the meal was a welcome change from his daily diet of sardines, bread and crackers. The group cooks at least three meals a day and distributes them throughout the camp.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Improvised distribution centers
Children leave a distribution tent with a box of water bottles in Tovarnik, Croatia. Using a mix of personal savings and donation drives, volunteers purchase humanitarian supplies from local grocery stores, often leaving aisles of empty shelves behind.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Providing essentials
Water trucks are rare, so local residents often turn on faucets near refugee camps, allowing people to take showers or simply wash their hands. In Tovarnik, Croatia, refugees rely on a granary for not only water, but also electrical sockets to charge their phones. Some local volunteers even provide hotspots through their smartphones.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
A voyage of endless lines
Much of the refugee voyage is defined by waiting in line to board buses and trains. Sometimes the process can take days so, once in line, people are reluctant to move. Though the Red Cross had a distribution center in Tovarnik, independent volunteers delivered food and water directly to people standing in line so they would not lose their places.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Working through the night
Those who arrive last are often those who need the most help. Families with children move slower than single men, and volunteers work at all hours to supply aid. "I haven’t eaten anything today," said Nezir Likaj, a Croatian volunteer. "I eat coffee for dinner and Red Bull for breakfast. If I’m lucky, I sleep three hours during the afternoon."
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
Lost in a transit zone
A refugee camp sprung up in a highway transit zone when Slovenia stopped refugees entering from Bregana, Croatia. Nezir Likaj, a Croatian volunteer, said medical services weren’t initially available because Croatian doctors and the Slovenian Red Cross were both prohibited from entering the area for several days. As a result, Likaj used his personal savings to set up the camp.
Image: DW/D. Cupolo
8 images1 | 8
Construction of the second fence is already being prepared, and Orban's chief of staff, Janos Lazar, said the government had earmarked 38 billion forints ($130 million, 123 million euros) for both the fence and newly planned migrant camps.
'A mockery of the right to seek asylum'
Orban's hardline policies have drawn criticism from outside observers, with rights groups Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Human Rights Watch sending a complaint on Friday to the EU Migration Commissioner over the country's proposed policies. On Monday, a European Parliament committee was also planning to discuss the state of fundamental rights in the country.
"The European Commission should not stand by while Hungary makes a mockery of the right to seek asylum," Human Rights Watch deputy director Bejamin Ward said. "Using transit zones as detention centers and forcing asylum seekers who are already inside Hungary back to the Serbian side of the razor-wire fence is abusive, pointless and cruel."
Orban has frequently locked horns with the EU and once said that his government was in "open conflict" with the bloc. He has also said in the past that Muslim refugees did not belong in Christian Europe.
